R. Marthanda Varma

Ravivarma Marthanda Varma was an Indian neurosurgeon, one of the pioneers of Indian neurosurgery and the founder director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS). He was the originator of a new surgical procedure for treating Parkinson's disease which later came to be known as Varma's Technique. He was a former Deputy Director General of Health Services, Government of India and an honorary surgeon to R. Venkataraman, former president of India. He was honoured by the Government of India in 1972 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.

Biography Marthanda Varma was born in the Royal family of Mavelikkara which had close family connections with the Travancore royal family, his mother, Aswathynaal Kutty Amma Thampuran, was the sister of the then Maharani of Travancore. After graduating in medicine, he did master's course at the University of Bristol and completed the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, becoming one of the first five neurosurgeons of India. He returned to India in 1958 and joined the All India Institute of Mental Health (AIIMH), a mental hospital based in Bangalore, Karnataka. with the whole procedure lasting less than 20 minutes. The elder is Ravi Gopal Varma, also a neurosurgeon and the younger is Shashi Gopal Varma. He died on 10 March 2015 at M. S. Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, Bangalore, at the age of 93, succumbing to age related illnesses.

Varma also mentored many private hospitals in Bangalore, such as Mallige Medical Centre, Manipal Hospital, and MS Ramaiah Hospital. He was also an independent director at Mallige Medical Centre.

Varma, an elected fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences, received the Rajyotsava Prashasti from the government of Karnataka in 1969.